Product-sum numbers

Problem 88

Published on Friday, 4th February 2005, 06:00 pm; Solved by 5332

A natural number, N, that can be written as the sum and product of a given set of at least two natural numbers, {a1, a2, ... , ak} is called a product-sum number: N = a1 + a2 + ... + ak = a1 × a2 × ... × ak.

For example, 6 = 1 + 2 + 3 = 1 × 2 × 3.

For a given set of size, k, we shall call the smallest N with this property a minimal product-sum number. The minimal product-sum numbers for sets of size, k = 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are as follows.